13.10.11

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:
On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.

In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can’t help falling for, and Devin, who she can’t stay away from, the consequences of Skye’s choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.

A Beautiful Dark is the first book in a captivating trilogy by debut author Jocelyn Davies.
Review:

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies has been high on my wish list ever since I first saw the cover for it. I loved and still do the elegant simplicity of it, and after reading the summary for it, I knew it was a book for me. However, while I did end up enjoying A Beautiful Dark in some ways, in other ways it was just a bit too much for me.

All Skye wants for her seventeenth birthday was a fun night out with her three closest friends, not a big flashy party filled with the majority of her grade. Much to her dismay, though, she ends up with the later of two. However, everything takes a turn for the better when she meets two new boys at the party...Asher and Devin. Asher is the apple of everyone's attention, as he drags nearly everyone in with his model-worthy good looks and his wild yet captivating personality. Devin, on the other hand, is broody and sensitive, someone who takes a long time to warm up to new people. Skye is quickly taken to both of them, and before she knows it, she begins to become friends with both. What she doesn't know, though, is that they're going to change her world with their secrets and the way they make her question her past as well as future. However, will it be for the better or for the worse? Only more time and pages can tell in this exciting new debut!

One of the biggest ways A Beautiful Dark failed in my eyes was character wise. Not because the characters were annoying or shallow but because I just could not connect to them or even come to like them all that much. For one, Skye was a bit wish-washy, in my opinion. I never liked how she was always afraid to go after what she wanted as well as the way she tended to push the ones closest to her away. Moreover, even though she had the ability to do extraordinary things, I felt that she never truly lived up to her full potential. The boys, on the other hand, were okay. Sometimes I liked them (especially Asher) but in other ways, they felt more like devices used to further the plot than characters, especially in the beginning. I did enjoy reading about Skye's friends and family, though, especially when they ended up providing a fun twist or side plot to the book.

The plot of this one was the great though. I enjoyed the use of mythology in it as well as the way Jocelyn presented. I also enjoyed that throughout A Beautiful Dark I was never sure what supernatural powers lurked inside because it ended up having me guessing for the majority of the book and entertained for the long run. What I did not enjoy about the plot, though, was the abundance of clichés found within the romance as well as the characters and plot lines. One or two is okay, but when a book is based on them, it does bring it down a notch or two.

Even with its faults, A Beautiful Dark is still a decent book, one I'm sure lovers of mythology and supernatural will enjoy thoroughly, and while it wasn't always the book for me, I will be reading the sequel just because I want to know what will happen next after that crazy ending.

Grade: C+

A Beautiful Dark (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

4 comments:

  1. I've got this book in my TBR pile right now. I'm a little sad that the characters aren't as well developed as the plot, but I'll try to keep and open mind. I definitely love that it has the mythology and paranormal aspects, so hopefully it'll be enjoyable. Great honesty in your review =)

    Kristan @ Lost Amongst the Shelves
    P.S. Having my first giveaway! Come check it out here

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  2. Let's hope that the character becomes more stronger in the next book! :)

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  3. not really on my must read soon list

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  4. It is books like A Beautiful Dark that keep me reading and loving the genre. It is books like A Beautiful Dark that inspire me further and ignite my passion to write YA of my own.

    This debut novel by Jocelyn Davies, editor and writer, was a true pleasure to read (note it only took a little over a day for me to finish). The writing was clever, sad, angsty, but I never felt like it was directed to only and young adult audience. Adults can definitely enjoy this as well (I know I did).

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